Garrya fremontii
Common name: 
Fremont Silktassel
Fever Bush
Quinine Bush
Pronunciation: 
GAR-i-a free-MON-te-i
Family: 
Garryaceae
Genus: 
Garrya
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
Yes
  • Evergreen shrub, many-branched, 5 to 15 feet (1.5-4.5 m) in height.  Leaves opposite, simple, elliptical, oval-elliptical to broadly obovate, 2.5-6 cm long, 1.5-4 cm wide, leathery, margins entire, light yellow-green and smooth above, paler below and pubescent or smooth; petiole to 1.5 mm, yellow-brown.  Flowers in catkin-like clusters, male and female on separate plants (dioecious), male catkins 5-15 cm long, female catkins 3-7 cm long, dense.  Fruit ovoid, about 6 mm wide, stalked, dark purple.
  • Sun or part shade.  Is less sensitive to heat or cold in comparison to G. elliptica.  Needs no summer irrigation.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 6     Native range in the Cascades from central Washington south through the Sierra Nevada to southern California, also found in the Coast Range and Klamath Mountains in southern Oregon and northern California.
  • fremontii: after John Charles Fremont (1813-1890), known as "the Pathfinder"; he collected plants during four difficult journeys exploring the western United States.
  • Oregon State Univ. campus: north side of Weatherford Hall and south of Peavy Hall.
Click image to enlarge
  • leaves and catkins, winter

    leaves and catkins, winter

  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • smaller plant flowering

    smaller plant flowering

  • flower clusters

    flower clusters

  • leafy shoot

    leafy shoot

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaves, comparison

    leaves, comparison

  • plant habit, fruiting, and fruit cluster

    plant habit, fruiting, and fruit cluster

  • plant habit, fruiting, and ripe fruit cluster

    plant habit, fruiting, and ripe fruit cluster

  • fruit and leaves, winter

    fruit and leaves, winter